The Bounty
by ichthyosaurus
Summary: Visser Three's hired a mercenary to take care of the Andalite bandits...and that's not the least of the Animorphs' problems. Ninth chapter up!
1. We've Got a Problem

This is my first Animorphs story, so be nice. I had to use parenthesis for thought-speech 'cause the formatting is whacked.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Animorphs, air hockey, malls in any vicinity, Mortal Kombat, psychology, money, or dogs. Just two cats. Well, they're my parents', but they like me more.

**Jake**

My name is Jake. By now, you know the drill. Who we are. What we do. And why we can't tell you our last names. It's not just some silly game we're playing. It's literally a matter of life or death. Or enslavement. And the last isn't an option.

Believe me, I wish it was a game. I'm not like Rachel; she needs the rush, that surge of adrenaline that we all get in battle. I don't. I'd be happy just being some normal guy, hanging out with friends, playing video games, and complaining about school. Things that Marco manages to do anyway.

Marco. Looking at him, you wouldn't think that anything is wrong. Maybe nothing _is_ wrong. Three weeks have passed since then. I look back on the whole thing now and there's holes. Things that we don't know. Missing information. I haven't asked him what really happened, and I don't know if he'll ever tell me. Maybe I don't want to know. Maybe it's a dirty little secret that should remain hidden.

The only people that know—_really _know—are Marco and a forsaken Andalite named Endozer-Coortil-Quartum. Possibly just Marco. I don't know what happened to Endozer. I don't think we'll see him again.

It began at the mall.

ooo

"Jake, you're not even trying anymore." He had a pained look on his face.

"What, you're not enjoying my total annihilation?" I grunted, poorly deflecting a shot. It clattered weakly across the table and Marco deftly slammed it back.

"Stick to video games," he said easily. "You suck less at those."

"Thanks." But he had a point—air hockey really wasn't my thing. The table cost fifty cents for a game. The first time, Marco and I both put in a quarter. The rule was that the loser of each game had to fully pay for the next. Needless to say, my pockets were swiftly emptying and Marco's were jingling cheerfully.

After he scored yet another point, I sighed and stood up. "I'm not interested in depleting my money any further, Marco."

"Yeah." He affected a look of sympathy. "I guess I've humiliated you enough."

It was a normal day at the mall. Normal as in a day where we weren't screaming and bleeding and fighting. You know, that kind of normal. Marco was slaughtering me at every game we played—he doesn't even practice them. He just figures out all those little tricks and moves and before you know it, you're broke.

"I know a little something about psychology," said a new voice. Erek came up to the table, grinning a holographic grin. "I believe Marco outsources his insecurity into games in which he believes himself to be superior in order to compensate for his shortcomings."

"See?" I grinned at Marco. "SHORTcomings."

The Chee are pretty cool. If you haven't been living under a rock, you know that they're androids. Without their holograms, they look a lot like large dogs standing on their hind legs. Speaking of dogs... never mind. That's a long story. Long story short, they're our spies. Their programming doesn't allow them to aid in violence, but they get us a lot of useful information. And while Erek's inhibitions prohibit him from fighting, it doesn't stop him from saving our necks. Which he's done many times.

"Ha. Ha," said Marco. "But what I lack in vertical stature, I make up for in brains and outstanding good looks." He got suddenly suspicious. "Erek, I'm assuming that you're not here to talk Mortal Kombat."

"I feel so unwelcome. Don't you like me?"

"Sure I like you. I just can't stand the sight of you."

"Thanks. By the way, Level 4 of Mortal Kombat is a killer," Erek said indifferently. Then he got more serious. "Cassie told me you two might be here. Be at the usual place in half an hour, alright? It might be better if I told you all at the same time."

"Erek, would you play dead if I told you to?"

"We'll be there," I told Erek. He nodded and disappeared through the throng of laughing, talking people at the arcade games. Inside, I felt a little sick. Erek never brought good news. Marco glanced at me significantly.

"That's it. We're not inviting him to any more parties," he muttered.

ooo

"Really, Erek, we're glad we're so popular," Rachel said dryly. We were all in Cassie's barn, lounging on bales of hay. Tobias was, as usual, perched in the rafters, and Ax was standing away from the barn door. A few weeks ago, Cassie cleaned some old horse blankets and brought them in to make it just a little more comfortable. Rachel brought up her fingers and pinched the air. "But I was _this_ close to convincing Cassie to go to the mall with me."

I glanced sidelong at Cassie, who was predictably cleaning a currently empty cage. She grinned ruefully at my knowing look. "There was a new nature documentary on tape at the Discovery Channel store," she said dutifully, "which just happens to be right next to The Gap."

"And The Gap just happened to be having a major sale," Rachel finished.

I smiled. "Erek, what do you have to say?"

He looked hesitant, like he regretted having to spoil our respective good moods. I couldn't blame him—we'd had a few days off from doing anything remotely dangerous, and telling us about some new threat wasn't going to be received well. His somber expression, though projected by a hologram, was convincing enough, and we quickly sobered.

"We've found something out that you ought to know," he said. "Early this morning. It seems that Visser Three has put out for some hired help."

(Hired help?) Tobias said sharply. Erek nodded. I started to get a bad feeling.

Rachel frowned. "What kind of hired help? Like the Taxxons?"

"No," said Erek, shaking his head. "Not a _deal_. No infestation. He's hiring out, paying actual money."

I raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like Visser Three. What is it that he would pay for that his troops couldn't do themselves?"

Erek looked at me seriously. "The only thing that his troops haven't been _able_ to do—kill the 'Andalite bandits.'"

We were silent for a moment. Then:

(Impossible,) Ax said flatly. (He would never concede that honor. He would want to kill us himself and take all the glory.)

"That's why it's so strange. We assume that he'll pay well enough that he could, ah, _buy_ the credit."

"Now _that_ sounds more like Visser Three," Marco said, rolling his eyes.

"Who exactly is he hiring?" I asked.

Erek looked directly at Ax. "You may have heard of him," he said. "His name is Endozer-Coortil-Quartum."

Ax stiffened before Erek even got the full name out. Rachel looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Gee, another model deputy of your sterling race?" she said mockingly. I shot a warning look at her. But we were all thinking it—about the betrayal of the Andalite captian on Leera. About how not even Andalites were perfect. Ax, however, did not retort. I looked over at him, and was surprised. He seemed to be trembling with anger, but not because of Rachel.

(Yes, I have heard of him,) he said, struggling to keep his voice calm. I could hear the fury radiating through his thought-speech.

Cassie looked at Erek thoughtfully. "So... Visser Three hired an Andalite?"

(He is not an Andalite!) Ax said fiercely, surprising us all. His deadly tail flicked in agitation. (He is not one of us!)

(Oo-kay,) said Tobias. (I'm thinking there's a history behind this.)

Ax didn't appear like he wanted to answer. He realized that his people weren't nearly as pristine as they made themselves out to be, but he didn't want to admit. I understood that, but I also wanted an answer.

"Ax, what's the deal with this guy?" I asked firmly. "Tell me."

He was still reluctant, but he wouldn't dare disobey a direct order from his "prince." His main eyes focused on the floor. (He is forsaken.)

"Forsaken?" Rachel echoed.

(Yes. He—he used to be in the Andalite army. He was a fierce, great warrior. He was even made a prince. But...) he faltered. (Something happened. I do not know the details. One day, he was out. Gone. Stripped of his title. Since then, he has acted as a mercenary. His name is sometimes spoken as a curse word.) He vehemently stomped the dirt floor with a hoof. (I would have thought that he would have had enough remains of his Andalite dignity not to hire out to the Yeerks, but... I was wrong.)

Tobias whistled. (Woah. This guy sounds like trouble.)

I noticed Marco, being oddly quiet. His arms were crossed and he had a perplexed frown on his face, his dark eyes staring a hole through the floor.

I turned my attention back to Ax. "Ax. How good is this guy? What can we expect from him?"

"He's good enough that Visser Three would actually hire him," Cassie pointed out. She tossed her dirty rag on one hay bale and sat on another.

Ax nodded in agreement with Cassie. It was always strange to see such a habitual human behavior characteristic on him. (Yes. He is very competent. He... he may be one of the best warriors that have ever come out of the Andalite army. Maybe even better than my brother was.) The last sentence he had to force out, like the admittance was going completely against his entire being. Cassie patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"How much is he paying this guy?" Rachel wondered.

"An extravagant amount," said Erek. "Unheard of. On your planet, the amount would translate roughly to about five million."

Our jaws dropped. (Five million!) Tobias demanded. (No way. He's got resources, but he can't have that much.)

"He does," Erek said grimly. Marco still wasn't saying anything. Cassie noticed and slanted a look at him.

"Unbelievable," Rachel muttered. "Five million dollars. He'd pay that much to get rid of us? I'm flattered."

"Is this public?" Marco said suddenly. "I mean, do all the Controllers know about it?"

Erek looked surprised, but nodded. "Yes, many of them do. It's strange. We didn't think he'd be so open about it."

"Huh." Marco lapsed back into silence. We all kind of stared at him for a minute.

"Something you want to let us in on, Marco?" I asked. He looked back up, the frown still on his face.

"I'm still having a hard time believing this," he said slowly.

"Well, believe it," Rachel said disdainfully. "'Cause whether you like it or not, we've got another Andalite traitor on our hands."

"Not _that_," Marco shot back. "Visser Three. If so many know about the hiring, it'd be impossible to hide it from the Council of Thirteen. He'd never surrender the glory of handing our heads to them and saying he did it himself."

"So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is, he's being just a little too loud about this."

"And?" Casse pressed.

"And, well—he's gotta figure that there are leaks, right? I mean, how else could we have figured out his other plans? He probably thinks that there are more like Aftran—spies, Yeerks against him. He knows there's a hole somewhere. He _knew_ that if he was vocal about it, we'd find out. We'd know about Boozer-what's-his-name."

(Endozer-Coortil-Quartum,) Ax corrected automatically.

"Whatever. I think it's all a distraction."

(A _distraction_?) Tobias said doubtfully. (I don't know. Five million bucks is a little pricey for a distraction.)

"We'd think that, wouldn't we?" He scratched his head. "But you gotta wonder—no matter how good Dizzy—"

(Endozer.)

"—is, what can he do that neither Visser Three nor his his troops could do?" He paused, then answered his own question. "Nothing, that's what. Visser Three doesn't think that Edzo—"

(Endozer.)

"—can really do it. He doesn't really believe that this guy can wipe us out after the Yeerks have failed. If he did, he'd figure he could do it too. He wouldn't just let someone else hand us over. He's covering something. He wants our attention on this Ebeneezer guy—"

(Endozer!)

"—so we can't tackle whatever little project he's working on."

We all stared at him for a second. I knew Rachel was impressed against her will. Beneath the jokes and the sarcasm, Marco's a pretty smart guy.

"I think he's probably right," I finally said to Erek. "Is there something—anything—else going on that you've heard about?"

He shrugged. "No. But the Chee aren't _that_ high up on the ladder. It's always possible that there's something we don't know about if it's kept strictly to a very select group."

"I think that has to be it," Cassie said. "Marco's right. This is all just too coincidental." She paused to briefly stroke the wing of an injured seagull. "Are you sure that there's no possible way that you could find out?"

"Maybe," Erek replied speculatively. "We'd have to pull some moves that are kind of risky. But if he _is_ right, and there's a good chance that he is, there's a chance."

"Use your holograms?" Rachel mused. "Sneak in somewhere? Maybe we could go in in insect morph."

"We'll try it first. If we can't get anything, we'll let you know."

The discussion hit a sort of lull, and we all quieted, pondering. Erek said his goodbye and left. One by one, we all drifted away. Tobias and Ax went back to Ax's scoop—some soap opera that he was fond of was due to be on shortly. Cassie began to gather up some medicines. For the first time, I realized that the barn provided an outlet for her—something for her to busy herself with and take her mind off things. I flashed a quick, reassuring smile at her before I left with Marco and Rachel to head back to our neighborhood. She smiled back at me.

Rachel sighed in exasperation when we left the barn. "Just ask her _out_, already. You two are acting like idiotic tweens."

Marco nodded sagely. "We don't have the patience for you two to test out your respective hormones, buddy. I'm losing sleep over this. It's plaguing me."

"Go away."

"Jake?" Marco looked at me with quirked eyebrows. "Do you need me to ask her out for you?" he said as though speaking to a five-year-old. "I may just have to. The consequences could be dire. If you want to avoid the damage that would cause, you'd better hurry and do it before I have to."

Rachel snickered and I didn't have a witty reply prepared, so I trudged along in silence.

My mood had lightened, and we were joking again, but a small voice nagged me from the back of my mind.

_What could be so important that Visser Three would go to such lengths to hide it?_

ooo

A/N: La la la. First chapter. Kind of short, I think, but whatever. This story's gonna have a lot of Marco, just 'cause I think he's cool. :P Can you tell? I'm trying to keep everybody in character, though. The POV of the next chapter will be Cassie's. I'm having a blast writing this—never written in first person perspective, so this is all new to me.

Tell me what you think! I've been a fan of the book series for ages, but haven't posted any fanfiction until now.


	2. Canine Conversations

Second chapter! Not very long, but... yeah, okay.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Animorphs, dogs, Star Wars, Boba Fett, the Chee, or Jabba the Hutt.

**Cassie**

It was a day after the chilling meeting in the barn, and a dark cloud seemed to be looming over all of our heads. We went about our daily business and acted as normally as we possibly could, but I just couldn't shake the bad feeling that I was missing something.

I walked on the sidewalk on my way to Erek's house. He'd told us to come back the next day and see what they'd discovered. I could morph and fly over, but I was going to be early and I just felt like walking. Like being normal. It was a sun-drenched day, absolutely beautiful. I knew Rachel would be grumbling about not being able to go to the beach.

A forsaken Andalite bounty hunter? It sounded like something from one of those soap operas that Ax is always so fascinated with. Or, you know, that guy from Star Wars. The one that fell into the big monster mouth in the sand, in that third movie? I saw it but I can't remember his name. Marco would die of shame.

(Thinking deep thoughts?) Tobias's thought-speech startled me, and I jumped. I squinted into the sky and made out his silhouette against the sun. I couldn't answer him, but I smiled, knowing he'd see it. I was sure that Ax wasn't far behind.

Mr. King greeted me at the door. "Hello, Cassie," he said, smiling warmly. "Nellie's missed you." As if on cue, a beagle puppy came crashing up clumsily, tripping over its own paws.

I squatted down and scratched her head. She got excited and slobbered doggy drool all over me. One of the dogs in Erek's enormous basement had given birth to a full, healthy litter of puppies. The Chee had been ecstatic.

Patting her one last time on the head, I stood up. Mr. King looked pleased with the attention I'd paid to Nellie.

"Hi. Are any of the others here yet?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tobias circling down, gently.

"You're the first. Come on in." He stood aside to let me through. Nellie jumped playfully as I edged in past the door. Tobias came in discreetly, through a back window. He landed on a chair and looked at us with his intense hawk eyes. (Hey. How's it going?)

Ax fluttered through in his harrier morph. Two minutes later, his long, lethal tail was resting on the floor. (Hello,) he said.

"Hi."

"Hello, hello, hello!" We turned and Marco was framed in the doorway, definitely looking happy. He strutted in and Jake followed, looking disgruntled. I raised my eyebrow at him and he gave me a kind of sheepish smile.

Marco noticed and patted his back cheerfully. "He's just mad 'cause he's now out of quarters. I am the king of air hockey."

It wasn't too long before all of us were together, assembled in Erek's basement. Rachel came in late with a rushed apology: she'd needed to watch her sisters for a few moments. We were really anxious to hear what Erek had to say, but dreaded the news all the same.

He didn't keep us waiting long. He came towards us quickly, at first in his natural Chee form, and then the familiar hologram sprang back up. I kind of like his natural body better—it suits him more. The dog-like appearance complimented the gentleness underneath.

Before he said anything, Rachel spoke up. "Please, please just tell us that Marco's being really paranoid and there's nothing wrong."

Erek—or his hologram—looked uncertain. "Well—we're not sure."

"Not sure?"

"It's not what we've found—it's what we _haven't_ found. There's nothing circulating. No evidence of anything being planned."

(That's good, isn't it?) asked Tobias. Erek shook his head.

"Normally there's talk of things, ideas that the strategists toss around. Always. It's strange. At the present, there's nothing. Nothing at all. It's the first time they've done that. They're always talking about _something_ they've got in the works." He gave us a significant look. "And they're tight-lipped on orders right now."

Jake frowned. "Meaning that they're focused on something. Something that they don't want everybody knowing about."

"They must think we're idiots," Marco sighed. "I mean, come on. No one's not going to notice that."

"You haven't found anything specific?" I asked.

"Yes. I found out when Endozer-Coortil-Quartum is arriving. He'll be here in four days."

(Four days?) Ax said sharply. (Then he can't have originally been far away.)

That made me uneasy. I didn't like the idea of a dangerous Andalite mercenary having been somewhere close without any of us knowing it. Looking at the others, I saw that they clearly felt the same. Who knew what else might be hiding in the stars?

Then I thought of something. Something I really, really didn't like. "Um," I began. Everyone looked at me. "We might have a bigger problem than we realize." Pause. "The Visser's really going through with this, isn't he? This is a serious deal. It's probably a distraction, but it's still a deal. He's still paying this guy five million dollars to go after us. If I were this Andalite, I'd be pretty convinced that Visser Three was really serious about me killing the 'Andalite bandits.'"

"Meaning?" Rachel pressed.

I bit my lip. I really didn't want to say it. "Meaning that Endozer is really going to devote his time to hunting us down. That's _all_ he's going to do. Every minute of every day will be spent tracking us. _Tracking_ us, not just fighting us. Tracking. And he might... you know. Find out that we're not really Andalites."

This was met by a brief silence. The weight of the situation had finally been fully set upon us.

"Great," Rachel muttered, running a hand through her long hair. "As if we didn't have enough arrogant aliens around. Visser Three's thinking he might kill two birds with one stone. If the Andalite can't kill us, well, that's fine, 'cause at least we won't have been able to mess up the new project. And if he can, then that's fine with the Yeerks."

(So what do we do?) Tobias's gaze was more piercing than ever. (How do we beat this guy in time to stop the Visser's new plan?)

We all looked at Jake. I hated to, but I did. Turning to him, shoving the responsibility of a solution on him when he had so much already. It wasn't fair of us.

But he's our leader for a reason. We looked to him for an answer, and he had one. He suddenly got that fierce, determined look.

"We go on the offensive," he said firmly. "We don't wait for him to track us down. We go to _him_. We take him down before he can take _us_ down." Jake looked at Erek. "You know when he's coming. Do you know where?"

Erek looked thoughtful. "There are four places in the city that the Yeerks could conceivably land and dock spacecraft, and one in the mountains. I doubt they'd use the mountain. One of the four city locations is at the Yeerk pool. That's out of the question: they would never trust Endozer to be so near to the Kandrona. So that just leaves three."

"Assuming he'll even use Yeerk docks," Marco pointed out. "He probably doesn't trust them any more than they do him. Not if he's smart. He wouldn't leave his spaceship with them and risk them stealing it and stranding him on a planet with parasites." He looked around at us. "He _would_ have his own ship, wouldn't he?"

"Most likely," Erek supplied.

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "But he might be cocky. After all, he could use us as a bargaining chip if he caught us, so he wouldn't really be too worried that the Yeerks would double-cross him."

It was frustrating. Jake was right; we had to strike first, but we didn't know where to go.

"We should watch the entrances on the off chance that Rachel is right. We can't pass up a potential opportunity."

(How?) Tobias asked. (Three entrances that can't be ruled out. Six of us. That's just two covering each spot. And if one happened to be the right place, how would we tell the others so they could come and help?)

Jake frowned and got a look in his eyes that said he didn't like the plan any better than Tobias did. "We'll just have to risk it. What else can we do?"

There wasn't any arguing over it. It was pretty obvious that we had to go through with it no matter what. The Chee couldn't help us and there wasn't anyone else who could.

Erek told us the location of the docking entrances. Rachel was disheartened to learn that one was right behind one of her favorite stores.

"Fine, whatever," she mumbled finally. "Their sales were terrible anyway."

"In the meantime," Jake told Erek, "really try and find out what the Yeerks are planning, okay? Use a disguise or whatever. Maybe we can deal with it before Endozer gets here."

Erek nodded. "I'll get you the information as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Erek," I said. He nodded at me and reverted to his normal Chee form. Everybody turned to leave, heading back towards the elevator shaft.

"Hey, Marco," I said, suddenly remembering. He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"You know that third Star Wars movie?"

He rolled his eyes. "I may have heard of it."

"Well, that guy—the one that fell into the monster thing in the sand? The bounty hunter guy who worked for Jabber the Hut? What was his name?" It'd been bothering me and I wanted to know.

Marco and Jake both stared at me with their mouths slightly open. Tobias doesn't have a human mouth, but if he did, I'm pretty sure his mouth would have been open too.

"_Boba. Fett_. Boba Freaking Fett! How do you not _know_ that?" Marco demanded.

(And it's Jabba the Hut,) Tobias said sternly. (Not Jabber. Never Jabber.)

I stifled a giggle at their indignation. "Sorry."

Jake shook his head in amazement. "Cassie, we seriously need to set you back down with that movie. With the whole series."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good time," Rachel said sarcastically. "You know, this is just perfect. Who better to save the world from invading aliens than a couple of nitwits obsessed with science fiction?"

do not understand,) said Ax. (What is a Jabba?)

ooo

A/N: yeah, kind of short. I normally try to have longer chapters, but I didn't want to bore you with drivel.

Sancho: Thank you! I'll try to update regularly.


	3. Bombs Away!

Hiya! Third chapter up. Hopefully I won't have to edit it.

**Rachel—10:30 p.m.**

You know, I hate to sound like Marco here, but there really is just no part of this job that's glamorous. There were major sales at the mall that day. I could have convinced Cassie to go with me. Maybe not, but you can always hope, right?

Anything is better than sitting on a cold window late in the evening, bobbing my little bird head up and down. Not to mention that I was nearly blind—seagulls aren't the best at night, but owls would look slightly out of place on the docks next to the beach. Lonely lamplights flickered along the beach. A big, dark warehouse loomed ahead. It'd been abandoned the past three years, or so everyone had thought.

Erek had said that Endozer would come late at night, to minimize any detection. I seriously wanted to go home and sleep.

Needless to say, I was a little mad. _I_ had wanted to stake out the entrance that was behind one of my favorite stores, but Jake had felt that I'd let anger get me too riled up. Anger? Why would I be mad? Just because parasitic slugs from outer space that are trying to take over the world are parking their alien asses behind the ONLY store in town that sold shirts in that perfect shade of red that I like? I don't get it.

At least Tobias was with me. We had all split up in groups of two, although none of us were really happy about it. If something happened to one of the groups, there was no way of letting anyone know. We were basically on our own.

Not that I needed help if I had to take Endozer down. I knew why Jake sent me here, and it wasn't because he thought I'd go nuts at the idea of the Yeerks controlling bargain prices. He figured that there was a pretty good chance that the Andalite would land at the abandoned warehouse—it was quiet and out of the way of prying eyes. If if Endozer did come here, I'd be the one to take him down, and Jake knew that I wouldn't hesitate to do it. Not like Cassie. _My_ conscience was disposable.

I immediately felt ashamed for thinking that. Jake was just doing what a leader should—he knew the strengths and weaknesses of his troops and he was using them.

(These eyes are so weak,) Tobias complained, thoroughly grumpy at having to morph a seagull. There's no way that he would ever admit that his hawk eyes would be just as useless in the dark as this morph's. My mood lifted a bit, and I laughed at him.

The Chee were covering for us at home. Tanya, the Chee who played my role, was pretty good at imitating my behavior. Erek hadn't been able to find anything definite about the Yeerk's secret project yet, so we'd have to deal with Endozer first and everything else later.

If he was even coming. I've never been so bored in my life.

I began to wonder if this was even an entrance that was used at all anymore. There was no activity whatsoever. No Bug Fighters landing, no cargo being unloaded. Just silence.

No, not silence. My head bobbed up as I caught the distinct sound of voices carrying over in the stillness. There was a crash of boxes and a couple of teenage kids stumbled into view. They were giggling and red-faced, obviously drunk. I rolled my seagull eyes. Idiots. Their laughter rang out across the docks.

(Hey, do they look familiar to you?) I asked Tobias. (I get the feeling I've seen them somewhere before.)

(School?) Tobias replied, his voice strained. I looked at him.

(Oh.)

I looked back down at the couple of bullies that once tormented Tobias, and I felt a flash of hot anger. When Tobias went missing one day, years ago, did they regret beating on him? Did they feel bad about the way they'd treated him?

I had a feeling the answer was no.

Tobias had never told me what sort of things the bullies did to him, but I had an idea. They stuck his head in toilets and punched him.

Well, maybe it was time for these guys to get crap in _their_ hair.

(You know,) I said conversationally, (I don't think that Boba Fett's coming here. We've wasted a handful of hours just sitting here and being bored. We might as well entertain ourselves, make the night worthwhile.)

I swear, if seagulls could smile, Tobias would have been grinning. In unison, we spread our wings in the dead night air and flapped toward the drunken kids like a couple of bomber planes on a mission.

(Target in sight,) said Tobias.

(Ready to deploy missile.)

(Three... two... ONE!)

(Bombs away!) I yelled.

The two globs streaked their way down. One missed, but the other glob got the bigger kid in the hair.

"What the—?"

His pal took one look at his friend the Port-A-Potty and broke out in shrill laughter—until I got him on the second time around. He no longer saw any humor in it. Both of them sobered up real quick, turned tail and hauled out of there, screaming the whole way.

Laughing wildly, I chased them with Tobias right beside me. We went after them until we ran out of ammo. Tobias and I circled back, giggling.

(It's going to take more than Herbal Essences to get that out,) I said, feeling pretty pleased with my aim.

Tobias was still laughing. (Now _this_ is a date, Animorphs style.)

(Yep.) It was kind of funny. Chasing down bullies and pooping on their heads wasn't exactly conventional courtship. (I hear next weekend Good Charlotte is gonna play an outdoor concert downtown. Easy targets.)

(I'm there.)

ooo

Except for Tweedledum and Tweedledumber, the night passed uneventfully. Almost a shame. I wondered if anything had happened to the others. I was sure they were fine—they were big kids and could handle themselves.

By the morning, it became pretty clear that Endozer wasn't coming. The sun was almost fully over the ocean, and the colors of the sunrise still lingered. (Come on, let's go.) Tobias had already morphed back into a hawk. We took off, glad to be heading back. The plan was for all of us to meet up at Erek's and report. I didn't think that anyone was going to have much to say. Maybe Endozer didn't even come.

It was going to be another beautiful, warm day. We passed over roads and relaxed gratefully as great thermals carried us up, relieving our tired muscles some. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, I marveled at the wonder of flying. On days like these, I could almost understand why Tobias remained a hawk. The sky was ultimate freedom.

I could see everything—every detail. The hairs on someone's head, occasional candy wrappers on the sidewalk, and all the great, GREAT sales. I mean, Old Navy was offering jeans for up to forty percent off. Forty percent! Forty! Percent!

Bad mood? Worry? What bad mood? What worry? I was flying with Tobias on a beautiful day. Everything would be okay. Everything would be fine. We'd handle Endozer and whatever else the Yeerks wanted to throw at us. We'd done multitasking before, no reason we couldn't do it again.

We rode the thermals all the way to Erek's house. It was clean and well-kept as always: the lawn was cut and the bushes trimmed, and the flowers blooming.

Mr. King met us at the door, and politely stepped back to allow us in. "Erek's already downstairs," he said. We headed towards the basement.

It's an amazing place that the basement leads to. It's a world of its own, with dogs yipping cheerfully, chasing their tails and anything else that moved. I was assaulted by several dogs wanting attention as soon as I stepped in. I laughed and held up Tobias away from the doggy slobber.

Cassie and Jake were already there. I was trying to think of a nudge-nudge comment about them being on stakeout together for the whole night when Erek greeted me anxiously.

"Anything?"

"Good morning to you, too. And no. Nothing happened. Well—" I paused. "No, nothing. What about _you_ two?" I asked, winking at Cassie and Jake. Both of them flushed.

"Nothing," Jake returned quickly.

"No romantic midnight dumpster diving?" I asked. Tobias and Erek snickered.

Cassie threw me a half-hearted glare, but I could see the tiniest smile.

"So no Endozer?" she asked. Jake looked relieved at the change of track.

(Nope, we got squat.) Then, in an action that totally bewildered Jake, Cassie, and Erek, Tobias and I broke out in uncontrollable laughter at the word 'squat'.

"Nothing to worry about," I reassured them in between giggles. Jake looked like he wanted clarification, but knew better than to ask. "What about Marco and Ax? Have you gotten hold of them yet?"

The location that the two of them were to watch was an enormous mansion on the edge of town. We'd scoped it out as birds beforehand, and it was impressive. Giant lawns, Olympic-sized tennis court and pool, ten car garage. It belonged to some famous record producer named Harvey Dodger, who supposedly worked with hip hop artists. Erek said that the entrance was under the tennis court, which slid aside to allow landing.

"Not yet," said Erek. "But just remember, this doesn't mean anything. Endozer may have actually landed in the mountains or someplace secluded."

"Yeah. Did you find anything out about the project?"

Erek frowned. "Nothing clear. Nothing worth mentioning."

We sat around for a good hour or so. We were just starting to get a little worried when we heard the big elevator shaft grinding. A minute later, Ax stepped out daintily, followed by Marco.

I took one look at their faces and got real worried, real fast.

Marco looked shaken and wan. He had none of his characteristic smirk on his face; rather, his lips were thin and drawn. His dark eyes were clouded with exhaustion and strain. Andalite expressions are a bit more difficult to figure out, but as he and Marco headed towards us, I could tell that he was tense. Too tense.

Nothing was said for a few seconds as we all stood there. My good mood had completely vanished.

Then, finally: "What happened?"

Marco and Ax looked at each other, unsure of who should talk. It was Ax that spoke first, digging a hoof into the floor.

(We may have a problem,) Ax said hesitantly. Marco shot him a look that plainly said that that was an understatement.

"Did Endozer arrive?" Cassie asked. Marco's face darkened. Ax didn't look much happier.

(Yes.) He was reluctant to go into details. (We were unable to destroy him.)

Jake sighed. "It's not your fault. There were only two of you. It was a long shot, anyway." Then he studied at their hard faces. "Is there something you want to tell us?" he asked slowly, looking from one to the other. Endozer was clearly not the main problem.

Marco remained stony-faced, but Ax suddenly looked angry. (Prince Jake, I believe that we have discovered what the Yeerks are hiding.)

We all kind of stared.

"What is it?" I demanded.

ooo

uncutetomboy: definitely! I like Rachel/Tobias and Jake/Cassie as much as the next person. It's not going to be horribly mushy, but I'll try and make it cute. There might be a little J/C next chapter.

Samuraigurl: thanks!

Animorph 19: thank you!

Little Midget: thanks! I appreciate the compliments.

Elwing: thank you. The more I write in first person, the more comfortable I get with it. What sort of series are you writing?

Traycon3: thank yooou!

Thanks for your comments. Be sure to leave more:P


	4. Thong of the Tiger

And fourth one up!

**Jake—10:30 p.m.**

The store was completely dark; not even maintenance lights were on. Big block letters read "The Chasm." As I'm sure you know by now, it's one of Rachel's favorite stores. Something about the color red. Anyway, Cassie and I were sitting on the rooftop in our owl morphs. We were far enough from the beach that we figured owls wouldn't be too conspicuous.

Technically, it was night, but to my owl's eyes it might as well have been noon. Everything that I looked at looked like it was under a microscope and a spotlight. I could see individual cracks in the pavement. I could see the fine print of all the bargain signs that Rachel would be lusting over the next day. Owls are truly amazing.

It didn't hurt that Cassie was there. I wasn't about to deny that. I had chosen the groups on mostly logical reasoning, but I wasn't going to complain about ending up with Cassie.

To tell the truth, I was actually a little worried about Marco's threat. It was just some silly, stupid thing he'd said about asking Cassie out for me, but I sensed he might actually do it if he thought I was pathetic enough. And he was right—I didn't want him doing that. I would die of embarrassment.

So, it made sense that I should ask her, right? I mean, I wasn't just going to use concern about Marco's threat as an excuse to do it... Right?

Okay, so maybe I was.

(So, Cassie,) I said, trying not to let my thought-speech waver. Good grief. I've been through more bloody battles than I can count, and I was nervous about asking a girl out. But Cassie's not just any girl.

(Yeah?) she said.

(Well... you know that new movie coming out in the theaters?)

Pause. (What movie?) Was that anticipation in her voice?

I panicked for a second. I had no idea what movie I was talking about. I didn't even know what was in the theaters right now. I'd just said it. If Marco had been there, he'd be laughing his head off. What movie was out that she would like?

(Um...) I said helplessly.

(Finding Nemo?) Cassie suggested quickly.

(Yes!) I practically shouted in relief. (Finding Nemo. That's it. I, um, hear it's pretty good.)

Cassie responded shyly, (Yeah.)

(Uh, are you thinking about seeing it?) I asked. Oh man, I was bad at this.

(Yes... are you?) That _was_ anticipation in her voice, right?

(Uh, yep. Definitely. You know,) I said, trying to sound conversational, (since we're both seeing it...)

(Maybe we could see it together?) Cassie finished. I practically fell off my perch in relief.

(Yeah.) I was trying not to sound eager, and failing miserably. (So, do... you want to?)

I waited a moment. Then: (That would be okay,) she said.

(Then—great.)

(Yeah.)

I really was truly pathetic, but I'd done it. I'd asked her out. And I think she said yes. She did say yes, didn't she? I quickly went back through the conversation in my head, and confirmed that she did say yes. Yes. That word had a whole new meaning for me.

We sat in silence, but a comfortable silence. The night was quiet and cool, but not chilly. One of the advantages of living where we did—the weather was generally pretty mild.

Not much was said for a while. We demorphed behind a dumpster to refresh our time constraints and settled back on the rooftop.

Then, with my sharp eyes, I picked up slight movement. A couple of people, dressed in black, were sneaking up to the store.

(You see them?) I asked Cassie.

She focused her gaze. (Yep. Are they Controllers?)

(Dunno...) They didn't _move_ like Controllers. Their movements were slow and deliberate. There were three of them, and I could see that all of them were women. As I watched, they pulled black ski masks over their faces. I laughed, suddenly realizing what I was seeing.

(They've watched too much TV,) I said. I'm sure Cassie would have rolled her eyes if she could have.

(They're going to steal from a _clothing store_?) I could hear the disdain in her voice. (Of all the things they could steal, they're going to take _clothes_?)

(Guess so.) I grinned as much as I could with a beak. Which wasn't much.

Cassie ruffled her feathers. (So... what do we do?)

Good question. Should we let them raid the store, knowing we shouldn't get involved? Or should we stop them? One of the women pulled out some sort of pick and began working at a lock. I waited for the piercing shrill of alarms, but... nothing. (Huh. Well, they probably shouldn't be around if Endozer comes here,) I said.

(Plus, you're bored.)

(That too.)

Without another word, we lifted off and fluttered back behind the dumpster, and demorphed. A minute later, two kids in tight clothes crouched behind the garbage.

"Ugh. That's rank." We both knew it'd just get worse when we morphed to animals with better senses of smell.

I concentrated and felt the changes starting. Orange and black striped over my arm. My muscles thickened and I dropped down to all fours as my bones shifted. The tiger's mind bubbled beneath my own, but it was easy enough to subdue. The vision and hearing capabilities were excellent—unfortunately for me, so was my sense of smell. I backed away quickly and Cassie did the same. We weren't going to hurt anybody, just give them a bit of a fright.

We trotted through the door that the women had picked, looking totally nonchalant. Like it was no big deal that a tiger and a wolf were hanging out in the socks section of The Chasm. I saw that the thieves had thrown towels over the security cameras in the store, which was relieving. Those women didn't know how much that helped us out. We didn't want Controllers knowing that the Andalite bandits knew the location of the store—but if Endozer came and Cassie and I attacked, I guess they'd know anyway. Either way, boredom can do a lot to you.

I spotted them against the right side wall. Cassie and I padded right up to them. They took no notice—they were feverishly grabbing a bunch of tops, giggling over their cleverness.

(Amateurs,) I muttered. (Ready?)

(Yep.)

I let out the monstrous, bellowing roar that only a tiger could produce. Merchandise rattled on shelves and the crooks jumped about three feet straight into the air. They whirled around to face us—and screamed.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Ow!Owowowow!) I shouted, shying back. My eardrums were going to burst! And the girls kept screaming, pressing and clawing against the wall.

(Um, what do they think they're trying to do?) Cassie asked me. (Climb up the wall?) She growled and snapped her jaws. I would have laughed at the effect that this had on the girls if my EARDRUMS WEREN'T ON FIRE! Their faces paled and their eyes widened in panic.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Owwwww!)

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Owwwww!)

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Owwwww!)

(Maybe you should have chosen a different morph,) said Cassie primly. The noise was grating on her ears too, I knew it, but my tiger's ears were more sensitive.

(Is it just me, or are they more afraid of you than they are me?) I demanded. (B_alto_ scares them more than Sher Kahn does?)

(Balto? Excuse me?)

It was then that the women finally started to run. They dropped all the clothes they were carrying and bolted for the door. Tried to, anyway. One idiot girl had her eyes squeezed shut in terror as she ran, and she plowed right into a display of clothes. Her friends didn't even look back to help her. The display teetered dangerously. As I watched, it toppled over and against another display. In less than a second, I was looking at some very rickety stands of clothes.

(Oh, crap.)

CRASH!

Clothes flew everywhere, burying me under a pile. (Hey!) I shouted in indignation. I tried to scrabble my way out, but I was completely covered with a three foot layer of cotton. I struggled to get my head up above the pile. The girl who'd run into the first display was only on the edge of the fray, and had scrambled to her feet and run out the door, still screaming wildly.

Cassie finished chasing her out and rounded back. (Next time they'll think twice—) She broke off, staring at me. Then she started laughing so hard she would have been crying if she was human. (Jake!) she gasped. (You have—) She couldn't finish.

(Yeah, I know, I know,) I said glumly. At least Marco wasn't there to see it. I finished heaving myself from the pile and looked around at the mess. (You can stop laughing now,) I informed Cassie, who was still cackling away. (Do we leave it like this?)

Cassie eased slightly. (Sure. They'll just figure it was a failed robbery attempt. Which it was.) She took another look at me and burst out in more furious giggles. I sighed.

We trotted out and back behind the dumpster. I was a little bit down that I'd gotten embarrassed in front of her. I demorphed, feeling the familiar but still creepy sensation of bones twisting and insides shifting.

As I got more and more human, something began to obscure my vision. Once I was fully human I reached up and plucked it off. Cassie watched in great amusement as I stared at the object in horror.

One pieces of clothing had stuck to my head from the pile. Something orange and black. A...

"Thong?" I said in shock. Cassie doubled over, holding her stomach and jamming a fist in her mouth to keep her laughter from being heard all over the block. I flicked away the... garment... in disgust, like it was some insect crawling over my skin. I noticed with some chagrin that the material—what little of it there was—was tiger print.

I didn't wait for Cassie to stop before I morphed back to owl. She morphed too, quicker than I, and I heard her laughter in my head as soon as she got thought-speech.

(Gee, thanks, Cassie,) I said dryly. (Just don't tell Marco. Or Rachel, for that matter.)

I guess God decided that was plenty action for us that night, because nothing else happened. Everything was silent, save for sporadic fits of giggling from Cassie. The offending stitch of clothing lay forlornly next to the dumpster.

When it became evident that Endozer would not be arriving here, Cassie and I flew off, getting clear before someone could come to open the store and find it a mess. It was definitely showing signs of being another great day. The first early birds were getting up when we reached Erek's house. His next door neighbor, a robust, bald man, stumbled out in a bath robe to pick up the paper.

We waited until he had gone inside before we flew through an open window and into Erek's kitchen. He was sitting there waiting for us, in the hologram that we were familiar with. He sprang up when we entered. "Anything?" he demanded.

I tried to answer, but my beak was melting into a mouth and my thought-speech disappeared. I waited a second and then said: "No."

Erek seemed disappointed, but showed us into the basement anyway. "You're the first ones here."

Rachel and Tobias were the first ones after us to arrive. Rachel entered, holding Tobias away from they hyper dogs and laughing. She came up to us and I saw the mischievous glint in her eyes, and I knew, just knew, that she was going to say something about Cassie and I being on stakeout together. Before leaving, Marco had already filled in several jokes that would suffice. And I'm sure he spent the entire night thinking up more.

Unfortunately (or was it fortunately?), nothing had happened with them. After Rachel slid a "romantic midnight dumpster diving" comment into the conversation, heating my face bright red, and laughed hysterically with Tobias at the word "squat" (I decided I didn't want to know), we settled down to wait for Marco and Ax. I was still worried, and I wouldn't stop being worried until they arrived.

We waited for maybe an hour. The two of them appeared in the basement and I got a whole lot more worried. Marco was serious like I'd rarely seen him. I know Marco. I've known him forever. We could be going through hell, and he'd still be grinning like an idiot. He wasn't grinning now.

Ax, too, looked tense. He quickly informed us that Endozer had indeed arrived, but they'd been unable to defeat him. I was okay with that. I was not okay with what he said next.

(Prince Jake, I believe that we have discovered what the Yeerks are hiding.)

Silence.

"What is it?" Rachel demanded.

Oh, man.

ooo

A/N: Ha! Thought you'd find out, did you? Well, you may just have to wait... again!

Elwing: interesting conditions they have—I'd like to see it. To 'publish' on you have to register. Go to Log In, and they'll have a registration option. You do have to have an email to register. Once you register, they'll explain everything to you. Registration is free and you can keep info private. It's pretty easy to get through—If I can do it, you can do it. I know diddly about computers. Anyway, thanks for your comments! Glad to see you're enjoying the story.

LittleMidgett: you're just gonna have to wait! Thanks for the compliments.

Sancho: I don't think you do know... at least, I'm sure I haven't alluded to it. Although, I'm really curious as to what you thought. Think you could tell me? And hey, a good time's a good time. Maybe kinda gross, but whatever. :P

uncutetomboy: you and I are the same: no mushiness, but relative cuteness is o.k. I don't really have plans for that particular battle scene, but a lot of what I'm writing just pops up as I'm writing it, so you never know.

Chaos Pirate: and I'm such a hypocrite, you know that? I am. I hate it when others leave me on a cliffhanger, but I do the same to them! But I expect everyone to be a better person than I am :P Considering the fact that I still haven't let you _off_ the cliffhanger. Anyway, thanks for the comments! Yeah, dialogue is a big thing with me. I consider it to make or break a story. Oh, and before I forget: _I_ read your author's bio, and I demand that you put up a story! I think what you're doing (staying a couple chapters ahead) is a very good idea. I attempt to do the same, but usually I give in and end up only being, like¾ of a chapter ahead.

Samuraigurl: yep, I've always kinda wanted to see Tobias get some payback, you know? Just figured that using the bully's head as a bullseye was the most appropriate way of doing it.

Auroran Wings: thank you!

Thanks for all your comments! I'm having such a fun time writing this story.


	5. You've Got a Bat in the Cave

Alrighty! On with the show.

**Marco—10:30 p.m.**

I've been on stakeouts before. They're boring, monotonous duties that rot your brain. This, THIS was a _stakeout_. A James Bond kind of stakeout. This was how it _should_ be. Three words: Girls In Bikinis. Make that four: _Gorgeous_ Girls in Bikinis.

I swear, before you accuse me of lobbying for this stakeout location, I had no idea that Harvey Dodger was going to throw a pool party at his mansion the night we were supposed to watch it. All the beautiful people were lolling around the enormous pool, throwing hot dogs at each other, and generally having a good time.

Of course, no one was swimming. Who swims at a swimming party? Not babes. They stretch out on pool chairs and show off. Completely fine with me.

I realized that this would complicate things. I'm not an idiot. But come on, some of the greatest celebrities around were there. And if they were going to be there, might as well enjoy it. Who am I to complain if Jennifer Garner walks around in a tomato red swimsuit? However, it's hard to be as thrilled when Peter Jackson's walking around in swim trunks. Especially when you've got the laser vision of an owl. Moving on.

Ax was excited, too: Allison Kenney, from his favorite soap opera _Crimson City,_ was there, hanging out in a purple bikini. Never heard of the show, but she was hot. Ax doesn't notice that the reason for good-looking ladies in soaps is to disguise poor acting and poorer plots, and he has difficulty differentiating between soaps and reality. It's pathetic. While I was scoping out the girls, he kept up a constant babble of useless information.

(She is interested in Brady,) Ax explained to me as though my very life hung upon whether or not Brady liked her back, (but he may leave her for Charlene-Mary-Ann-Lou, even though she's engaged to Chad the astronaut.)

(I don't care.)

(Chad's currently on a space mission to disarm missiles on a Republic of Kgyrefestalpodukah satellite that are aimed at Crimson City.)

(I don't care.)

(And Blanca, Allison's roommate from Jopetalgambulat, is secretly working for Vincent the crime lord, embezzling money to buy a diamond mine in Hugarumbart.)

(I repeat: I do not care.)

(Diamonds that Vincent will use to make a potion that will make Delilah love him instead of Troy.)

I explained to him what he could do with his soap operas, and he primly informed me that was not biologically possible.

Anyway. Wasn't Peter Jackson directing the new King Kong movie? It was of special interest to me that he appreciate the classic. He had a good start casting Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, but Jack Black? Come on.

I wasn't really thinking of whether or not Endozer would come. I mean, why use such a crowded place to land? Okay, the tennis court was on the other side of the mansion, hidden by the house's bulk, and nobody was there, but they wouldn't have been holding a party. So mostly I was relaxing and enjoying the sight of Lucy Liu reclining on a pool chair.

Oh, yeah. Definitely my kind of stakeout.

It didn't matter that it was late at night—the party was still raging. Big pool lights and lights surrounding it lit up the place like it was daytime. I could see the big man himself, Harvey Dodger, making his way around and glad handing anyone who thought they ought to be glad handed. I was relieved to see that his shirt was on.

(Oh, Marco, look!) Ax exclaimed. (Charlene-Mary-Ann-Lou is here! Perhaps she and Allison will meet!)

(Wha?) I said distractedly. I was more interested in Lucy.

(Both have feelings for Brady, Marco,) Ax said patiently to me. (They strongly dislike each other.)

(That's nice.) I would have told him that soap operas aren't reality, but I wasn't feeling that mean right then. It'd be like telling a kid there was no Santa Claus. Either way, the boy didn't seem to realize that our lives were way more dramatic than any crappy soap opera.

My sharp vision caught the time on P. Diddy's diamond encrusted watch. (Man, it's only 11:00? How much time have we got left in morph?)

(Forty five of your minutes.)

I seized on that. (Ax, are our minutes even any different from "your" minutes? They're everybody's minutes. They're my minutes, they're Allison Kenney's minutes, they're your minutes, they're even Michael Moore's minutes, and you _know_ he's from another galaxy. They're just minutes!)

(Forty four of your minutes left.)

I was about to reply with a witty remark when my owl's eyes chanced to pass over the other side of the mansion. (Ax—do you see that?)

He focused. (Yes.)

The air was rippling, like heat rising. (They can't be doing this here!) I cried. (Not with everybody around!)

(It appears that they are,) Ax said tersely. (Perhaps they were unable to land at another site. Or they are using this social event as a cover.)

(What a way to spoil an evening,) I sighed. I trimmed my wings and banked north, getting a better look at the tennis court. The court floor slid aside almost silently. My own owl ears could barely hear it; there was no way that the party goers would hear it over Ashlee Simpson's screeching into a karaoke machine.

The invisibility cloak stayed on, settling into the enclave that the court covered. Ax looked at me. (Shall we?) He did not sound eager.

(Extraterrestrials first,) I muttered.

We flew down to the ground, to a remote corner where we knew there weren't any cameras or security. We are the ultimate burglars. After a minute—not just any minute, an EARTH minute—my cute human butt was squatting in the thorns of a rosebush. "Ow!" I hissed as I stepped on one.

"I guess we go roach," I told him. He nodded. Neither of us liked to morph again so quickly, and I knew I'd just have to power morph to something else as soon as we got inside.

I felt the changes begin. My skin hardened and crinkled like burning paper, and I rapidly shrank.

SCHWOOP! SCHWOOP! Two antennae came sprouting out of my head. I looked down at my hands, and then looked away. Not pretty.

Pretty soon we were two ugly bugs out to kick some alien butt. We motored! Being a cockroach is like nothing else. You're ugly as sin and it's like you're strapped to the bottom of an Indy car. Any second you might crash into something, and wham! You turn a split second before you splat. It's insane!

We zoomed around and found the tennis court. It was nearly shut; only a sliver remained.

(To the Batcave!) I yelled. We scrambled. Ax squeezed through the crack just as it closed, and I slipped in right after him. (Ahh!)

(Ahhhhhh!) Ax cried, as he fell. I wasn't falling.

(Hey!) I yelped. One of my legs was caught. (Leggo!)

(Marco, what is happening?)

(_This_ is why only having two legs is a good thing!) I snapped. (Six? Four too many. One of 'em's caught.)

(Can you dislodge?) Ax said, sounding anxious.

(Uh, gimme a second.) I struggled. Snap! (Ahhhhhhh!) I cried, falling for what seemed for a lifetime. Plop! I scrabbled back to my feet. My five feet. One leg was still stuck in the crack above. Oh, well, I'd live.

The surface I was standing on was a gleaming lead gray—at least, I thought it was—and sloped. I slid a couple inches. (Ax, where are you?) I called.

(Here.) Another cockroach nosed up to me. (I believe we are standing on his ship.)

I hesitated. (His ship? Not a Bug Fighter?)

(Not a Bug Fighter.) I could sense the thinly veiled hatred.

(Ookay. Where's our boy?) I listened. My antennae waved wildly. I picked up vibrations from my left. We headed over that way. Suddenly, Visser Three's familiar, booming thought-speech blossomed in our heads.

(Greetings, Endozer-Coortil-Quartum,) the Visser said. (I trust your journey was well.)

(Dispense with the niceties, Visser Three,) a new thought-speak said. It was harsh and cold. (I believe I am to receive one half of my reward now.)

(Of course,) Visser Three replied. There were a few vibrations as a Hork-Bajir shuffled forward. I guess he showed Endozer some money, because Visser Three soon added: (Is this satisfactory?)

(It is.)

(Now,) Visser Three whispered. (Get me the Andalite bandits.)

(Maybe Rachel's right,) I mused. (Maybe he is trying to kill two birds with one stone. Either way, we should get to a place where we can morph, before he can get away.) I felt sick at the thought of attacking with so many of the enemy around, but I pushed it away from my mind. Couldn't think about that now.

We skittered off the ship, plopping some feet below. More vibrations. I dimly saw another Hork-Bajir shuffle forward holding a cage. There was an annoyed squawk from inside.

(What creature is this?) Endozer asked sharply.

(It is an Earth bird, called a hawk. You will need this morph to pass with obscurity.)

(Ax, he's gonna morph,) I warned. (We'd better hurry or we'll lose him.) More skittering. We found an empty sort of closet about a hundred feet away, and Ax demorphed first. (Any cameras?)

(No,) Ax said quickly.

(Hang on, man. We'll get him.) I quickly began to demorph, hoping and praying that nobody came in. Ax went back into his Andalite form, and very soon I realized that demorphing in a crowded closet with an Andalite is perhaps a bad idea.

"Oof!" I grunted as Ax's hindquarters knocked me against the wall. "Ax, lay off the sticky buns, okay?"

(My weight is appropriate and becoming,) he sniffed.

"Uh-huh. Move over, Slim." I shoved past him. "We should morph Hork-Bajir. Maybe we can disguise ourselves as some of Visser Three's troops."

SPROOT! Blades slid out of my arms, elbows and ankles. I looked down. "Cool. You might want to step back, Ax-man." He squeezed back as far as he could against the cold wall. My skin turned leathery green, and I felt the extremely cool sensation of getting taller. Two feet are important when you don't have many to spare.

I was a mean, green, bark-eating machine. The ultimate vegetable dicer. Oh, yeah. I was what Yoshi wanted to be when he finally hit puberty. The Hork-Bajir's mind is soft and gentle, but it's hard not to feel confident in that body. Ax stared at me with the same glaring eyes that I had.

(Shall we?) he asked.

(Since Rachel's not here to doom us, I'll say it: let's do it!)

ooo

A/N: Didn't really intend to leave it there, but the chapter was going to go on for too long and that seemed a good place to finish. Of the chapters thus far, this was my favorite to write. I'm having such a total blast writing this story.

Animorph19: ah, well, I guess I'm just a terrible person :P The thong thing actually just sort of... emerged in the chapter. I didn't plan it at all. :D

Auroran Wings: yep. At least Jake was with a girl who he could trust not to tell anybody!

Traycon3: when I've got the inspiration, I can update fairly quick. Hopefully I don't get writer's block, right?

Uncutetomboy: I like to think of clever chapter titles. Unfortunately, they're rarely actually clever. :P

East Coast Ryder: Good Charlotte? Yuck. Not a fan of perpetual angst. But this is the girl who has, like, five Dean Martin CDs. Go on—you listen to Dean Martin and tell me he doesn't make you smile! Btw, don't like caramel. Gimme dark chocolate and then we'll talk.

Elwing: you're absolutely right—it _is_ a mild movie. I figured they'd had enough of action and adventure, you know? Besides, Finding Nemo was basically the only movie I could think of that Cassie would actually pay money to see. 'Cause of the animals and stuff.


	6. From Bad to Slightly Worse

La laaa...

**Marco cont.'d**

We slunk out of the closet and into the hallway after making sure that nobody was watching. Have I ever mentioned how difficult it is to mosey inconspicuously when every step threatens to slice up your ankles, sides, and thighs? Moseying is a physical impossibility when you're a Hork-Bajir. And what good is a race that can't mosey?

Anyways. We tried to look as normal as humanly (Hork-Bajir-ly?) possible. I tensed a little as a couple of Hork-Bajir Controllers strode past, but they completely ignored me. (So. Where'd our boy go? Think he'd go out the same way he got in?)

(He may have used a smaller, less noticeable exit,) Ax suggested.

(I guess. Where are we? I don't think we're going in the right direction.) The hallways all looked the same.

(What is the right direction?) Ax commented quizzically. (We do not know where he is going. Perhaps,) he added, (upon reflection, it was a mistake to allow him out of our sight so quickly. And to not keep track of where we were going.)

I felt a little defensive—after all, I'd sort of led the way to the closet. (What would we have done as roaches—bite his hooves?)

And then, suddenly, he was there.

I jerked slightly in surprise as we rounded a hallway and came face-to-face with En—Ednoz—Ezzo—whatever. I nearly sliced myself. Right in front of us!

I mean, I assumed it was him. He definitely wasn't Visser Three—he was larger and his fur was a distinctly darker blue. I couldn't take my eyes off his tail—longer than what I gathered the average Andalite tail was, and with a MASSIVE tail blade. Oh, yeah: this boy meant business.

He paid us no attention, which was good, 'cause we were just standing there like slack-jawed yokels. After a second he was past us, and I managed to get out smugly to Ax: (We weren't lost.)

Ax stood there rigidly, and I began to notice the awkwardness of the situation. (Do we attack him now?) he asked me uncertainly.

(Um...) I looked around. Just two Hork-Bajir other than us, presumably leading the Andalite to an exit. No cameras around, even. Our odds wouldn't get much better. (I guess. So, uh... charge?)

Probably not the fiercest battle cry ever heard.

So, we charged. Just like that, with blades flashing. And just like that, the Andalite's powerful tail cracked like a bull whip and sent us sprawling against the opposite side.

We lay there for a second, stunned by the blow, before scrambling back to our feet. The Andalite turned to the Hork-Bajir next to him, who were gaping at us.

(Is it so easy to infiltrate the Yeerk forces?) he asked them derisively. (It is no wonder that they have given you so much trouble.)

The Hork-Bajir rushed at us. They hadn't gotten five feet away from us when there was another crack—and a lot of blood. The two Hork-Bajir halted instantly, and looked in dumb disbelief at the stumps where there arms had been. In less than a second, Endozer had removed two arms.

(Whoa,) I commented to Ax.

Endozer glared at the offending Hork-Bajir Controllers. (The Andalite bandits are _mine_!) he snapped possessively. (You will not deprive me of my reward!)

They nodded and backed off, clutching their stumps, and ran down a side hallway. I cursed. There'd be a million Yeerks swarming the hallway in a minute.

(This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?) I muttered.

(Your sarcasm is appropriately placed,) Ax agreed.

Endozer seemed to be sizing us up. (I congratulate you on your offensive strategy,) he said. It almost sounded sincere. (But you underestimate me. I may make your death quick if you reveal to me where your fellow bandits are.)

(Never,) Ax snapped.

(Of course not,) Endozer sneered. (Mustn't doubt _Andalite integrity_.) He scuffed his hoof as a display of contempt. (Mustn't forget the ethical superiority of our race.)

(Not _your_ race,) Ax shot back. (You are not one of us.)

(And I suppose _you_ are?) Endozer taunted. (Fighting for a planet that is not your own? Fighting for the humans? Little one, you are as much of a traitor as I am!)

I was getting a little nervous, peeking around us to see if the cavalry was arriving yet. We were wasting time chatting!

(That's not true!) Ax shouted. I coiled my muscles.

(You're as foolish as your brother—)

FLASH!

My wrist blade was parried a centimeter away from his throat, the tip of his tail blade having been all that was between us. I didn't pause. In one fluid motion, I spun on one foot, held his blade away, and swept my thick tail under his two forelegs. He fell forward and I managed one good kick at him with my talons before he yanked his tail out of my grip, and I jumped back with lightning-fast reflexes as his butcher's knife of a tail-blade slashed at the air where my head had been.

The tail jerked back again. I cried out as I was hit by rapid darts of pain. I looked down and saw that his blade had dug into my side, next to the ribs. Blood oozed out, and I noticed with a sick realization that I could see bone. My bone.

Ax rushed forward while Endozer was still on the ground, but staggered back as an oozing gash ripped his shoulder. Endozer quickly got up to his hooves. He looked at me with something like approval in his eyes.

(Attacking while I was off guard,) he commented. (Very good. And excellent use of your tail.)

Somehow that just made me angry—like he was patting me on the head and giving me a doggy treat. Like I was a child that he'd have no problem dealing with.

Suddenly I realized that this was not the place or time. We were pathetically unprepared, and both already injured. My immense hands were slicked with blood.

(Bail,) I said tersely to Ax.

He looked at me in shock. (Now? But, Marco, we outnumber him two to one!)

(Uh huh. And in about thirty seconds, they'll outnumber us a hundred to two. Thirty of _our_ seconds. We need to get to the others and regroup.)

(But—)

(Do _you_ think you can take him on alone?) I demanded. ('Cause if you do, be my guest.)

I could see the logic pressing on him. Endozer just stood there calmly, waiting for us to finish our silent conversation. I didn't care if Ax thought I was a coward. In thirty seconds we'd be swarmed. I didn't wait for him to respond—I bounded down the hallway to the right, opposite from where the two wounded Controllers had run. Ax hesitated but followed me.

Endozer looked a little shocked. I guess that enough of his Andalite sentiments remained that he couldn't imagine Andalite warriors running away from a fight. But the boy recovered quickly and gave chase.

Where to go?

(Marco, I believe that we _are_ lost,) Ax panted, refuting my previous boast. He was quickly returning to Andalite, running with an odd, loping gait as two legs sprouted out of his chest and stalk eyes rose from his head.

(Shut up, Four Eyes,) I grumbled.

The hall slanted into two directions ahead of us. (Take the right!) I directed.

(Why right?)

('Cause I'm always right!) I puffed. I heard clopping hooves. I chanced a look over my shoulder. (Ahh!)

I jerked my head to the side just as his tail missed me by millimeters. He wasn't more than five feet behind us!

(Stop!) I yelled suddenly. I stopped abruptly and ducked down. Endozer didn't have space or time to slow his momentum, and he tripped over my back and sprawled across the linoleum floor. I was pleased to see that some of my back blades had raked across his underside. A couple tracks of bright red stretched over his flank.

I turned down yet another hallway. Ax leaped lightly over Endozer after me, making sure to nick the mercenary hard with his hooves.

The place was a maze of battleship-gray hallways, each one looking like the other. Right, right, left, right, left, left, right... did we lose him?

We came upon a corridor of dozens of doors.

I skidded to a halt. (Oomph!) I grunted as Ax plowed into me.

(You can stop doing that now,) Ax grumped.

(Let's go in one of these doors.) I didn't want to admit it, but I was getting dizzy. Blood was seeping out through the hand that was pressed over the hole in my side. To my relief, I saw that I wasn't leaving a blood trail. Yet.

I picked one in the middle of the pack, wrenched the door open with draining strength, and followed Ax inside. I barely waited for Ax to give the all clear before I started demorphing. The wounds healed themselves and my pink human flesh emerged from the rough green. My tail schlooped up my spine.

I nearly collapsed. Altogether, I'd morphed and demorphed five times in the last twenty minutes. I reached out a shaky hand to steady myself and took stock of the room we were in, after making sure that the door was locked behind us.

Ax looked a little wobbly too, but he scanned the room alertly. It was some sort of lab room, that much was obvious. Computers and technical junk littered the place in a sort of organized chaos. I followed the line of equipment until my eyes rested on large transparent containers on the other side. I did a double-take.

(Androids?) Ax said in surprise.

"Androids?" I echoed stupidly. No way.

But they were right there, right in front of me. A dozen canisters were lined up next to each other, each containing a robot.

They weren't Chee. They had the same back-turned legs, but the feet were flatter, the heads were sloped, and the eyes glittered like onyx. They were not moving. They glowed a spectral pale in the tubes, like metal ghosts. The ethereal light emanating from them seemed to hold a quiet, firm spell over the room.

"What are they doing here?" I breathed. "What's going on?" I looked around the room, trying to find an answer amid the piles of circuitry.

Ax stepped lightly over to a console. (Computer,) he said. It hummed to life. The screen flickered on. (Computer, detail purpose of mission,) he directed matter-of-factly.

"Operation Drone is owed to the brilliance of Visser Three," the computer dutifully praised. I think somehow all the Yeerk programs are wired to kiss his butt. "The Drones will act as secondary hosts, eventually supplanting humans as primary vessels."

_Vessels_. Geez. Then I understood, and my heart may have stopped. "What?" I whispered. Beside me, Ax was confused.

(These androids in the containers will act as hosts to Yeerks?) he asked.

"Yes," the computer affirmed unnecessarily.

_Oh, man,_ said a tiny voice in my head. No, no, no.

This was what Visser Three was hiding. This was what he was going to all the trouble of protecting. If this worked, it'd be worth a lot more than the billion dollars he paid to cover it. And if it worked, we were all dead.

Ax didn't appear concerned. If anything, his eyes shone with... what was it? Excitement? (The Yeerks and their... hosts... would be... symbiotic?)

"What? No, duh. The _Yeerks_ wouldn't change. They're not the Iskoort."

Ax looked disappointed. (Ah. I see.)

No, no, he _didn't_ see! "Computer?" I asked urgently. "How many androids are they planning to make?"

There were some hums and whirs. "One hundred thousand have been completed. Current production goal: one million."

(A million) Ax demanded. (How will they program them all?)

I suddenly felt vulnerable. Any moment someone could barge in, and if that happened I really didn't want to be in human form. I rapidly morphed to gorilla. Ax didn't spare me a brief look, all his attention on the little computer in front of him.

"The Drones will have no recognizable consciousness," the computer stated flatly. The Drones would be shells, more or less. "All programming and updates will be streamlined through this central processor. They will operate on a mainstream circuitry."

(When will the androids be ready?)

"Once remaining errors are stabilized, realization of the goal should be expected within several weeks."

(How do we stop the project?) I asked feverishly. Ax looked at me in surprise.

(Marco, if the Yeerks develop these androids, then they would have no use for invading other races,) Ax told me. (There would be no more war!)

(No! No!) I snapped. (You don't get it!)

I would have yelled some more, and say some things that would have shocked Cassie, but there wasn't time. The bad guys' cavalry would arrive any time now, and we'd be roast if they found us. I flexed my massive gorilla arms.

(Gotta split,) I said to Ax. (Um, does this computer know I'm human? Should we smash it?)

(I suppose so,) Ax said slowly.

(But we don't want to tip off the Yeerks that we know about this. Can you erase its memory of us?) I asked Ax privately. (Like, delete all visual and sensory input from the past ten minutes?) Pause. (Wow, I sound a lot smarter than I really am.)

He looked at me with all four eyes. (Yes, I believe I can. But we must hurry.) He swiftly began toying with the computer, keeping his stalk eyes on the door. I knuckle-walked over to the containers holding the androids. Then, peering through the transparent glass, I noticed something that I hadn't before.

Something I _so_ did not want to see.

Something that affirmed my suspicions.

(Oh, crap.)

(Marco, I am finished,) Ax called to me. (I have set a timer on the computer. It will not begin to receive sensory input for another two minutes. We must leave before the time is up.)

(Right,) I mumbled. I hesitated a second, still staring at the androids, and then turned back. I didn't want to leave yet, not having found out how to destroy the evil freaks, but there wasn't any time.

Ax was looking back at me, his hand hovering over the pad that would open the door and lead us back into the hallway.

(Ready?) he asked.

(Nope.)

(Ah. I am ready too.)

(Ax, you are attempting to develop a sense of humor. Please tell me why.)

His hand struck the pad, the door whooshed open, and we rushed out into the hallway.

ooo

A/N: Ta daa ...another chapter up. My longest so far, I believe.

Samuraigurl: on holiday? Lucky you.

Sancho: oooh, that actually sounds really interesting, about the relative thing. And I like Marco too. :P Thanks!

AuroranWings: that's the main reason I paired them to watch over the mansion. I can never pass up an opportunity to write banter. :D

Elwing: you are right, of course. I shouldn't set strict goals for writing, and I don't think that I will for this story. It'll get done when it gets done. I've set unrealistic goals for other things, and you're right, it's unnecessarily stressful. I think a lot of what you said applies for poor J.K. Rowling, who's admitted that some of her self-set expectations often stressed her out. Thank you for the wonderful words of wisdom!

'Till next time, kiddos; review and lemme know what you think! ;P


	7. Ax Doesn't Need Any Jane Fonda Tape

Blah!

**Marco cont'd yet again**

We barreled out into the hallway, a big ball of legs and fur, leaving behind the surreal androids and the annoying, chattering computer. I wrenched my mind from the discovery to focus on the moment—we'd take care of all of that later; we just needed to survive long enough to tell everybody.

A bunch of Hork-Bajir rounded the hallway just as we slipped around the corner at the other side. They shouted in the strange, confused mix of English and their language, and gave chase. We seemed to be heading up; the floor ramped, sharply, then leveled off.

My padded feet hit the linoleum softly; Ax's hooves sent dull thuds. He was running in front of me, being much faster than I was with my odd, loping gait, and his big blue butt unpleasantly filled my view. I could barely see around the edges.

(Seriously, Ax, we need to get you that Jane Fonda workout tape,) I puffed.

(Marco, I reiterate: I am of the appropriate weight for a still-maturing Andalite.)

(You're "maturing," all right. Go left!)

We pounded down a left turn. Fifty feet ahead of us there was a large, industrial type door. It could lead out—or it could lead us into a dead-end room. I glanced over my shoulder. The footmen weren't in sight, but I could hear them still in hot pursuit. Too late to turn back now.

(Go!)

We burst through the big door, which slid shut behind us. It had been concealed in a wall. My feet left the vague warmness of the linoleum and were greeted instantly by cold marble. Ax skittered, slipping on his hooves. (Where are we?) he asked.

I looked around as we still ran. There were nice oil paintings on the walls, golden moldings, nice furniture, and expensive looking vases. (This must be Harvey Dodger's mansion—connected by that sliding door.)

In a house that big, it wouldn't be too hard to demorph and remorph to birds. We just had to distance ourselves from the pursuing Yeerks, then slip away. But how?

(The party!) I cried suddenly. (Crash the party!)

The Hork-Bajir, I knew, would hesitate to go out into the open, especially surrounded by a ton of people. I looked around frantically. I vaguely remembered that the pool had been on the opposite side of the mansion from the tennis court. Great. (Just keep going straight,) I informed Ax. At least the hallways were plenty wide so my vision wasn't blocked by an unsightly alien butt.

(This is just sick,) I said in outrage after we ran by the sixth flat screen plasma T.V. (This isn't right. My television is a Sony knockoff and this guy's got half a dozen plasmas! And a billiards room!)

"Hrrooaarr-_gefrash_!" came a cry from behind us.

(_Gefrash_ yourself.)

(Marco, I believe we are approaching the social gathering,) Ax said calmly.

He was right. I could see the crowd through enormous glass French doors at the other side. (Ax, it's called a party. The only people who call it a social gathering are the people who don't get invited.)

We drew closer.

(Ready?) I asked.

(Ready,) Ax confirmed.

(Charge!)

We slammed through the big doors. There was a tinkling of glass as it fell out of the door frames. (Oops.)

No one really noticed at first. I guess that when you get together all the major celebrities in Hollywood, a couple freaks here and there don't garner much notice. I let out a gorilla bellow and beat my fists.

Then: pandemonium.

I guess something about a rampaging gorilla and four-legged, blue-furred, four-eyed, scorpion-tailed freak being chased by mini-Godzilla clones just sets people off.

"Look! Monsters!"

"RUN!"

"AAAAHH!"

"My manicure!"

"What is that?"

"Monkey!"

Hey. Not cool.

The entire scene erupted. Celebrities shrieked and scattered in every direction, sending hors d'ouveres flying.

(Really, these people shouldn't be eating and swimming at the same time,) I chided.

Lara Flynn Boyle, the human toothpick, was the first to scream—_really_scream. Her mouth stretched in wide horror.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

(Ow! What, is she a Howler in disguise?) I demanded, brushing past her. Ax galloped alongside me daintily.

Paris Hilton, gaping at Ax, stumbled back into Lindsay Lohan, and together the bundles of ill-expressed hormones tumbled into the pool. The younger girl let out an angry shriek.

"I just got my hair dyed!" Lindsay cried, outraged, glaring at me like it was my fault. "I'm not supposed to get it wet so soon!"

So far, everything was working perfectly. There was complete and utter chaos, and the Hork-Bajir soldiers had ill-advisedly ripped out into the scene after us. They were slowed down by the mass of bodies.

I caught Peter Jackson out of the corner of my eye. Instead of screaming and running from the monsters like everybody else, his face was shining with boyish excitement. He jabbed his finger at me, shouting to his terrified friend: "Yes! Yes! That is exactly what I want for Kong!"

I puffed with pride. (How cool am I?)

I'll tell you this: girls would not be so quick to idolize Johnny Depp if they knew the piercingly high notes he could reach when he screamed. One cannot make up for girly screams with a bitty mustache.

We tore out of there. The Hork-Bajir had disappeared pretty quickly once they figured out that barging in on pool parties was perhaps not a stellar way to discreetly invade the world.

It was pretty easy to find a private place to demorph. Nobody was exactly eager to follow us. I speedily demorphed and remorphed yet again, exhaustion pressing in on me. I don't think I'd ever had to morph so many times in half an hour. Was that all it had been? It had seemed like so much longer.

Nobody noticed two tired birds of prey flapping away from the scene. They were all too busy calling their lawyers, agents, and makeup people.

It wasn't even midnight. We'd found and lost Endozer, discovered the secret plot, and crashed a party in the short amount of time we'd spent. Reality settled back heavily and my mind sort of drifted. I didn't want to think about telling Jake and the others about failing to kill Endozer. I especially didn't want to think about the androids.

Ax, however, was not ready to let it go for the moment. (I am confused,) he confessed, after a while of flapping in the dead night air. (I do not understand why the creation of the androids is a terrible thing. Would it not mean that they have achieved the same peaceable existence as the Iskoort?)

(You call the Iskoort peaceable?) I muttered. But I couldn't avoid Ax's question. (No, Ax, it doesn't mean that.)

(Then what does it mean?)

(Ax, they wouldn't stop the invasion just because they didn't have to worry about host bodies. It would just mean that it would be easier for them to invade—if this android project is successful, what's to stop them from launching all out warfare? They wouldn't have to worry about silent infestation.)

Ax was silent.

(They wouldn't need the humans anymore,) I said. (They could just destroy us all.)

From then on, we flew in silence. The adrenaline had fled us, leaving us deflated, and the magnitude of the situation slammed us like a brick. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the exhaustion and strain that had been forcing its presence, and my wings felt like lead.

Running through my mind were images. Nightmarish visions of buildings exploding and people screaming, running in the streets, being struck down with no where to run, no place to hide... horrific battles, ultimately, resulting in the annihilation of the human race... enough hosted Yeerks to take on the entire galaxy. And one by one, all the races would fall.

Everybody would die.

ooo

We flew back to Ax's scoop in the forest, and I fell asleep immediately, no longer resisting the fatigue. Desperation and horror haunted my dreams, and when I woke up in the morning, sunlight streaming through the scoop, I felt no more refreshed than I had been before falling asleep.

I didn't need a mirror to know that I looked like a mess. I poked under my bleary eyes, and felt the bags that had swelled up there. My back hurt from sleeping on the hard cold ground. I felt like crap.

I was mad, tired, and stressed. It's hard to wake up on the right side of the bed when you don't have any sides to wake up on, especially after a bad night. Ax didn't seem much better. He looked tense, agitated.

The beautiful weather didn't fit my mood at all, nor did it alleviate it. Ax and I flew over to Erek's house. I was irritated at the sunshine. We would probably be the last ones to arrive. Jake, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias had probably spent boring, uneventful evenings. Lucky them.

Mr. King greeted us kindly and showed us down the basement. A minute later, it opened to the world of dogs. Dogs were yipping, yapping, and running around generally having a great time. It was something that normally cheered me up no matter what, but now it was just grating on my frayed nerves.

Jake and the others saw immediately that something wasn't right. Their faces tensed, prepared to hear whatever we had to say. I almost snorted. They were so not prepared.

For a few seconds nobody said anything. Then:

"What happened?" Jake asked.

Ax and I looked at each other. I frowned at him—he could do the talking. I would most likely puncture my explanations with extremely rude words.

(We may have a problem,) Ax said finally.

I glared at him. Understatement of the century.

"Did Endozer arrive?" Cassie asked.

That rocked me a little. With a start I realized that I hadn't even thought about him, but about the bigger problem. Great. Well, that just made me feel better.

Briefly, I wondered if Ax would tell them that I'd instructed him to leave Endozer—that I'd told him to run away. I had been right to do it, of course, and he'd seen the logic in it, but still—we'd bolted for it.

(Yes. We were unable to defeat him.)

Jake looked disappointed, but he shrugged. "It's not your fault. There were only two of you." I shot a look at Ax, and he gave a slight nod to me. "It was a long shot, anyway." He paused, looking at us. I guess he saw something in our faces, because he said warily: "Is there something else you want to tell us?"

The others were looking at us with concern.

My expression didn't change, but Ax suddenly looked angry as only an Andalite can. His eyes narrowed. (Prince Jake, I believe that we have discovered what the Yeerks are hiding.)

They stared for a minute.

"What is it?" Rachel demanded.

I sighed.

ooo

A/N: Bleh. Don't know if I liked this chapter as much as the last couple. I like writing happy humor, not depression.

Victim-of-His-Own-Design: your review made me laugh :) Very entertaining to read. Thanks for complimenting, too:P Glad you're liking it.

Traycon3: hey, you're right. Huh. I haven't read that book in a really long time.

Elwing: Um, well, I call it The Bounty 'cause of Visser Three paying a mercenary to get the "Andalite bandits." That, and also because I couldn't think of anything else. I draw blanks when it comes to titling stuff :P I can see how it's easy to be confused. And thanks for the compliments!

Animorph19: yeah, definitely. The computer was even getting on MY nerves a little, and I'm the author! You might be seeing it again later on in the story (hinthint). Won't say no more than that. :P

AuroranWings: Visser Three has a killer sense of humor. Literally: killer. Who's Tachikomas?

Samuraigurl: I'm an only child, m'self. And yeah, that computer is totally annoying.

See ya next chapter.


	8. Don't Kill Us Please

Uh, hiya.

**Tobias's POV**

My good mood had vanished as soon as I'd seen Marco and Ax, to be replaced with a sort of sinking feeling. Now, as we all stared at them, that sinking feeling got a lot worse.

"What is it?" Rachel demanded.

Marco sighed. He obviously wasn't happy about being the bearer of bad news. "The Yeerks have discovered the Ferrari of host bodies," he said frankly. "Compared to them, we're Ford Escorts." He glanced sideways at me. "Or maybe battered old Thunderbirds."

(Who's old?) I asked, trying to keep it light.

"We are. The humans. We are _so_ last year," he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked warily.

"We've gone the way of the parachute pants. Out of style. They aren't as interested in us—the Yeerks are _making_ hosts. We saw them in a lab in the mansion."

That took a moment to register with all of us. Making hosts? Like...

"...Like the Iskoort?" Cassie breathed. "They'd become symbiotic?" Her eyes shone.

This was amazing. I couldn't breathe. This was news beyond what any of us could have expected. No more war, no more battles—peace? In my mind I began to see a world without the war. No more fear and terror and knowing that, any minute, you could die and the whole planet would be doomed. No more. We could have normal lives.

But through those dancing visions I began to register both Marco and Ax shaking their heads. (Not like the Iskoort,) Ax said flatly.

"What do you mean, 'not like the Iskoort?' They're not interested in invading us any more!"

Marco rolled his eyes. "Who said that? The Yeerks are plenty interested."

(Why?) I asked, settling my weight on Rachel's shoulder. (Why would they care about us, if they were making their own hosts? They wouldn't need us anymore.)

His face darkened. "You're right. They wouldn't need us."

Jake gave him and Ax a long, measuring look. "What are you saying?" he said. "You think they'd go ahead with the invasion still?"

(Yes, Prince Jake,) Ax affirmed. (It may actually serve to give the Yeeerks more momentum. Having no more need for human hosts, they could abandon the silent invasion and launch an open attack.)

My heart stopped.

"You don't know that," Cassie argued. "You don't know for sure. We know that there are Yeerks that want peace. What makes you so sure they aren't trying to find a way?"

Marco looked annoyed. "Who is _they_? Is Visser Three one of _they_? 'Cause he doesn't act like one of _they_."

(It is suspicious,) Ax agreed. (Why would the Abomination feel so compelled to hide the project if it had peaceful intentions? Even going so far as to paying for the elimination of the "Andalite bandits?")

"Maybe because _they_ knew that we'd react like this," Cassie insisted. She looked hard at Marco. "I think you're jumping to conclusions."

He shook his head, irritated by then. "No, I'm not. I—"

"You don't know. Maybe they really will be like the Iskoort. Maybe these new hosts can bring peace."

"Then why are they walking weapons?" he snapped.

Pause.

"What?" Jake asked.

Ax looked at Marco in surprise. Evidently this was news to him, too.

Marco shifted his weight. "I got a closer look at them. Those things—well, they're not exactly R2-D2," he said lamely. "Unless R2-D2's bulked up. Way, way up. Those hosts—they're androids... with Dracon beams installed on their arms. And some other stuff I didn't recognize." He frowned, looking puzzled. "I forget. Is Barney the peaceful purple dinosaur wired for massive destruction?"

(You're sure of what you saw?) I asked.

"I've looked down the barrel of a Dracon beam enough times to know what it looks like," he said crossly.

"Figures," Rachel mumbled. "It was too good to be true."

Well, that had pretty much burst my bubble. For one moment, one wonderful second, I thought the war was over. You can't blame me for being a little mad at Marco and Ax—it was a big letdown. Like chasing a tasty-looking rat and finding out that it was someone's escaped gerbil. I felt guilty for it, but I was still annoyed.

Rachel got over it pretty quickly. "Okay, so what now?" she asked with her hands on her hips, snapping the spell that had held all of us sullen. "How do we stop this?"

Jake looked at Marco and Ax. "Did you see anything we can use?"

"I don't know. Some kiss-up computer."

"Did it tell you anything else useful?"

"Um." Marco paused, rummaging through his memory. "He—it said something about no programming... just makes sure the robots do their jobs... blah blah blah... something about 'streamlined circuitry,' whatever that is." He looked at Ax. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Ax shrugged again. (I have not heard that particular expression,) he confessed.

"Erek?"

The android shook his head, looking a little frustrated. "I don't know what that means, either."

I tried to think. Streamlined? If anyone could figure that expression out, it should be me. The phrase was obviously derived from wave patterns... but what did it mean?

Streamlined meant smooth. When air currents were streamlined, they were level, sleek, flowing. Flowing. With no gaps or pockets of air. A constant wave. Flowing lines.

Flowing lines. That meant something.

Rachel looked at me. "What about flowing lines?"

I started. (What?)

"You were thinking out loud. What about flowing lines?"

(Oh. Well...) I readjusted my grip. (When air currents are 'streamlined,' they're smooth. Flowing lines. Uniform.)

Ax's stalk eyes shot to me. (Uniform!) he cried excitedly, grasping at the word.

Marco got it too, and he smacked his forehead. "Duh!" he said. "_That's_ what that stupid computer meant. And—" His eyes widened, and he groaned. "Ax-man, we seriously screwed up. We should have just clobbered it when we got the chance."

"Could someone please translate this for those of us in the dark?" Rachel asked impatiently.

(The computer spoke of 'streamlined circuitry' in the context of controlling their functions, which was apparently its responsibility,) Ax said hesitantly.

For a minute, we just stared at them.

"Don't kill us," said Marco.

Oh, I wanted to.

"You mean to tell us that it was right there—RIGHT THERE—and you didn't smash it?" Rachel said in disbelief. "That you could have ended it there and you didn't?"

"We didn't know," said Marco defensively. "Plus, we were kind of knee-deep in crap at the moment. It was a complete accident that we found that lab at all."

Rachel glared at him nonetheless. Jake looked a little p.o.'ed too, but seemed to understand. "Okay—so what you're saying is, that computer you talked to—it basically controls the robots?"

(Yes,) said Ax, looking a little abashed.

"And if we get that computer, we stop the project?"

(Yes.)

"Okay." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Did you find out how long until enough they finish?"

"We might have some time," Marco said thoughtfully. "It did say that there were a few more bugs to fix."

"Like what?"

"Um." He looked embarrassed. "Dunno. Like I said, we were a little distracted."

"Fine. Well, what we need to do is find that computer. They may have moved it after Ax and Marco showed up, figuring they found it. In the meantime, we have to be on the lookout for Endozer. What can you guys tell us about him?"

(He is big,) Ax said simply. (Bigger than I, or even Visser Three. His tail and blade are longer and larger than the Andalite standard. He is fast. He is strong. And he is not easily surprised.)

"Great."

"He's protective," Marco mused. "He got ticked when a couple of Hork-Bajir tried to attack us—didn't want them 'depriving him of his reward' or whatever."

"So we know that it's purely a business deal," said Cassie. "Strictly a professional relationship between him and the Yeerks. He doesn't like them. Can we use that?"

"Sure," Rachel said. "Definitely. What would he do if he thought the Yeerks were reneging on their deal?"

Marco's eyes lit up. "He'd go nuts."

"But how would you convince him that the Yeerks are cheating him?" Erek asked.

"How do we know that they really aren't?" Marco pointed out. "I mean, like Tobias said last week—a billion dollars is crazy. I don't know if Visser Three will really pay that when he could just back-stab him for free."

"Maybe he's even setting a trap for Endozer," Cassie suggested. "Secure the project, get the 'bandits,' and get another Andalite host body for a loyal Yeerk."

(Are we giving him too much credit?) I asked. (He's typically not that sneaky.)

Jake frowned. He looked tired. We all did. "Maybe," he muttered.

Maybe. There were too many _maybes._ Everything was piling on, one maybe after another. One possibility shadowed by another and then another. Standing around with bags under our eyes, slumped shoulders, and lowered faces, we sure didn't look like superheroes out to save the world. We looked like what we were: a bunch of bedraggled kids in way over their heads.

Rachel was drumming her fingers on her hips. Unlike the rest of us, she still looked great. Her teeth were as white, her blue eyes as clear, her hair as shining as ever. "Whatever he is. We make Endozer think that the Yeerks are lying. Then we bust up the project."

"Oh, um—in opposite order, preferably," said Marco.

Jake gave him a look. "Why?" Then: "You never told us how long until the androids are finished."

"Well, the computer _did_ say there were a few bugs to fix..."

"How long, Marco." Not a question.

Pause. "Most of them? In a couple of weeks... I think they've got some of the bodies already; they're just fixing circuitry."

"A couple of weeks?" Cassie looked ashen.

"Um, yeah."

(As they are all being "programmed" at the same time, none will be ready until they are _all_ ready,) Ax offered by way of comfort. Some comfort.

Jake slapped his hands together and rubbed them, suddenly snapped back into leader mode. "Okay. Well, the situation sucks, but we have to work with it. Ax, Marco—one of you, or both... we need to get back in the mansion, see if that computer's still there. Can you guys remember where to find that lab?"

"No problemo," said Marco easily.

He was lying. I knew it. He was pretty good at it, and the others were convinced, but my eyes noticed what theirs did not. I saw the way his skin paled, very slightly. He had no idea how to find that lab again. By the way Ax was struggling to keep his eyes impassive, I could tell that he didn't remember either.

(I'll go with them,) I offered. (They might have bulked up security. I can act as visual aid.)

"Good idea," Jake agreed. "Go later this afternoon."

Marco looked hard at me, and then raised an eyebrow and flashed a grin. He knew that I had seen he was lying.

_Busted_, he mouthed.

(Yep,) I answered privately.

Jake continued, heedless. "Erek, find out if Endozer's communicating at all with the Yeerks. He might contact them with questions about different animals, maybe how to blend in with human society. Anything. Something that ells us what he's doing, where he is."

Erek nodded. "We'll do everything we can. Some of our people have infiltrated communications operators, so if anything comes through, we'll hear it."

"What about the rest of us?" Rachel asked. "Do we go with Ax and Marco?"

"No. This will be quick—in and out. No need to have more people along. No fights."

"Rats," Rachel said, and laughed.

"Yeah, we know how you get when your maniacal tendencies haven't been indulged lately," Marco mocked.

"All work and no play makes Rachel a dull girl," Cassie said with a good-natured smile.

Rachel just tossed her head and laughed again, knowing she couldn't argue. "Uh-huh."

"It really is too bad," said Marco. "The mansion had a lot of nice plasma televisions and fragile china vases you could have obliterated."

Jake cleared his throat, although a smile tugged at his mouth. "To answer the question—just sit tight for a while while things get worked out."

I felt Rachel sigh. "Sit tight?" she said. "Fine, whatever. The Chasm is supposed to have a sale today. I can get that shade of red that I've had my eye on."

Jake and Cassie suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Um..." said Cassie eloquently.

"What?" Rachel eyed them. "Is something wrong with that?"

"Um."

"What did you do to the store?" Rachel asked sweetly. When she says something sweetly, it means that you're about to be missing a limb or some other totally unimportant body part.

"Nothing," Cassie said earnestly. "They just... won't be having that sale today," she finished with a guilty grin. "Maybe you should try The Gap instead."

ooo

A/N: just getting things set up in this chapter.

Traycon3: I didn't think about that until you said it. :P I guess it's the stuff he packs on while he's in human morph, and Marco's just teasing him. Whatever works. :D

Elwing: "Bleh" is the precise word to define that last chapter. And to answer your question, I've read the entire series, so that includes all the ones narrated by him—which are probably my favorite. I love his sarcastic commentary. :P And don't go thinking that I'm some sort of computer buff. _So_ am not. The only "lingo" I really know is 'A/N'. A/N means 'author's note.' It's to let you know that the following text isn't a part of the story. I think R&R means 'read and review.' Makes the most sense, anyway.

Lilyofthevalley: Thanks!

Sancho: I understood what you said. I think. :D And I love Ax/Marco banter. I think it's got more potential than banter between any other two characters. They're like the two Stooges. Thanks for all your compliments!

Victim-of-His-Own-Design: I think you should write a story revolving around that plot. :P But what's this about Marco getting stuck as a vegetable? Heinous! Marco's the best!

AuroranWings: Ah. I see. To me, "Tachikomas" sound like "Tamagotchis," which I had about four of, eight or nine years ago when they were all the rage, and which are infinitely more annoying than any happy computer. :P

As always, R&R! (that was for you, Elwing :D)


	9. Nothing Good Comes from Shopping

Oh my, how time's flown by.

Something that's been bothering me lately—that big sans serif font in the Animorphs books. It's really distracting somehow. Was it just so she could stretch a hundred pages by seventy more or what? x)

**Cassie's POV**

I was surprised at how well Rachel took the news. About the Chasm, I mean. She was pretty cool about it. She was calm. She agreed that the Gap was a suitable alternative. She said she'd go there today.

What she _didn't_ say, not at first, was that she intended on dragging me along with her. I should have known. This is how Rachel gets even.

"If I have to suffer at your hands," Rachel sniffed, rifling through a rack of shirts that all looked the same (but weren't, according to her), "at your paws actually, I don't see why you get off scot free."

"Hey, I prevented a robbery. I should get _something_."

"Exactly." She waved a blouse under my nose. "And that _something_ is a nice, new casual-but-classy outfit, which you are absolutely not allowed to clean cages in. Considering what you did to my favorite store, what you did to my favorite shade of red wine, I think I could have condemned you to a harsher punishment."

"Like what?" I winced, moving away from the flowery stuff in her hand.

"Like:_new fall wardrobe_," she said warningly.

It was a threat with weight and I trusted she'd go through with it if I pushed her. Instead I said, "Is shopping at a time like this practical? With Tobias, Ax and Marco off doing who knows what? Is this a good time?"

Rachel glared at me over a stack of tailored jeans. "It is not whether it is a good time to shop," she said with mock solemnity, "it is whether it is a good time to do anything else."

"Saving the world between red tag sales."

"Saving the world fabulously."

I laughed and allowed her to push some jeans into my hand. Despite my complaints I was actually having a good time with her. Before you get too shocked, let me say that anymore, I have a good time doing anything that's not dangerous or bloody or desperate. Normal life had become a hobby for us, something we practiced when we had time. Shopping was more than a hobby for Rachel; it was a reincarnation of some predatorial primal instict. She prowled the stands in front of me, hunting.

There was a long-sleeved tee in front of me. I studied it, thinking that blue was actually not too bad, when my shoulder was tapped. I turned, expecting to find Rachel beaming with pride at her protege, but came face-to-face with Delia.

Delia is a Chee. To anyone in that mall, she looked like a normal college mallrat, with a careless ponytail and bags draped over her arms. Somehow I was surprised to think it hadn't occurred to me that maybe the Chee liked to shop as well. Or were the bags only an illusion, projected by her hologram?

"That's a cute shirt," said Delia, looking at the blue and sounding ostensibly like the average girl she appeared to be. "Nice blue, kind of a robin's egg."

So it was. I gave the shirt a second, appraising look, and turned back. "Do you have news already?"

"Yes and no," said Delia. She adjusted—or appeared to adjust—the bags on her arms. "Nothing new on the project," she continued conversationally, "but we did catch a little something. One of ours managed to discover Endozer's human morph—caught him acquiring an unsuspecting businessman. A little on the tall side, average weight, blue eyes, rimmed glasses, early thirties." She pulled out a photograph from somewhere within her hologram and handed it to me. Nothing remarkable. I wished he were a bit more distinctive.

Rachel raked her eyes over it. "No problem," she said. "Just look for a guy having inexplicable trouble with walking."

"And Cinnabon paste smeared all around his mouth."

"We should just stake out the food court. He's bound to get there eventually."

"Rachel, that's dangerous. We don't have the kind of firepower we'd need to stop an Andalite on a sugar high."

Delia watched us. I was pretty sure the amusement in her eyes was genuine. "Is this what you do when you're scared out of your wits?"

"Yep," I replied with a laugh. Rachel tossed her head, clearly resenting any implication that she could ever be scared out of her wits. Delia shook her head, smiling, and bade us goodbye.

I watched her leave. I'm always a little awed by them. You would think that the weight of so many thousands of years would drag them to their knees. But the centuries had not diminished their appreciation of a single day, and they were risking so much to help us live lives that we were foolish enough to call long and full. What did ninety years matter to them, especially my ninety years?

Rachel snapped me out of it. "Cassie? Hellooo. He—lloooooo."

I jumped. "Yes? What?"

She sighed. "Nevermind. You missed a brilliant remark and it'd be pointless to go back and say it again."

"Sounds like something Marco would say."

"No, Marco _would_ go back and say it again. Whether or not you heard him the first time."

I laughed lightly and let her drag me around again. Time must stop inside a store. Each time I looked at my watch, feeling sure thirty minutes had passed, it had been only five. Forty minutes and three shirts later, I stumbled out from the stifling Gap into the freer air of the open mall and firmly told Rachel I was done for the day. "Oh no you're not," she said. But she did allow for a brief break in the food court.

Okay, I admit. While in line at the Subway I might have scanned the faces of the people around me. You can call it paranoia, but I think of it as learning the hard way to be aware of everyone around me. I knew Rachel was doing it too, but not out of nervousness. She _wanted_ him there. She wanted him there, right before her; she was aching to go at him. If a fight broke out right then and there next to the Subway, Rachel would be the only person in the mall that would be absolutely thrilled.

"So, do you think the boys will be able to get back to the lab?" Rachel said conversationally.

"Not a chance."

"Bet they can't remember."

"Do you think Jake realizes?" I asked. "I didn't have the heart to tell him."

"No," said Rachel, forking over some cash to the guy at the register. He took it with slightly shaking hands, staring at her but also shyly avoiding her eye. She didn't seem to notice. She rarely does. I smiled at him. "He has this baffling trust in them," she continued. "Like a little kid who still believes in Santa Claus."

"Ouch." We sat down at a table near a wall. Some guys nearby tried to catch Rachel's eye. One of the great things about her is that she doesn't notice because she doesn't care. She's not that kind of girl.

We were being lighthearted about it, but I was starting to worry as I bit into a sandwich. We didn't know what they were doing. What if they were in a fight for their lives as I was sitting there eating? It was a symptom of the doubt that had become as much a part of our lives as breathing. There was never a way to know for sure.

"Hi, Rachel."

We looked up to see a small group of girls nearing our table. I recognized them, didn't remember their names. Rachel knew them, or she did once. It goes without saying that our social lives had taken a hit recently. Rachel looked at them warily. Not for the first time, I wondered at how strange our world had become that we tensed just by being addressed by some highschoolers.

"Hi, Amy," Rachel responded with a fake smile. "What's up?"

Amy shrugged and slanted a small look at me. The girls stood uncomfortably behind her. None of them looked exactly happy. "Shopping. Whatever. What have you been up to? You're never around anymore." There was an accusatory undertone that made me glance at my fork in embarrassment and some guilt. "I called you ages ago about a party and you never called back."

Rachel was unruffled. "Oh, sorry," she said unconvincingly, "I totally missed it. Next party, huh? Give me a ring."

Amy didn't buy it. "Sure. It's just that you seem so distracted anymore. You never have any time for anyone. Or most people, anyway." She shot a significant look at me.

"I'm busy," said Rachel. "You know: honors society, college prep, babysitting, gymnastics, that stuff. Once everything calms down I'll have more time."

Sure. Call back in a few years.

"You've got too much going on," piped a different girl, a small blonde. "What about kicking back for once? The Sharing's got a party this Friday. You and—Kayla—should come."

Rachel was suddenly on alert. So was I. "Sorry. Busy. I have to watch my sisters that night."

"I think you could call a sitter or something," Amy pressed.

"And lose out on forty bucks?" Rachel asked, trying to sound light. "Not a chance. There's a sweater at Macy's that's got my name on it."

The blonde girl looked a little annoyed. "There's more to life than school and shopping."

"Like TV," Rachel joked. Her eyes were so slightly narrowed. Whether this was out of suspicion or protectiveness of her favorite hobby I couldn't be sure. "Look, I promised my mom. Next time, alright?"

"Fine," snorted Amy. "Whatever. Just keep on ignoring us. The Sharing's party was supposed to have a DJ and everything, but since you have better things to do..."

Rachel gave a glare you don't want to get from Rachel. "Beat it," she snarled.

Amy shrugged, then suddenly froze. Her gaze was fixed on something beyond us. I swiveled my head out of habit and scanned for what she was looking at. A throng of people milled around, and I turned back to Amy curiously. The rest of her posse looked frightened too. They tossed one last look at us, then slunk away.

"Guess you're even threatening when you're a regular mallrat," I tried to joke, but I was spooked.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, looking around. "I think I've permanently morphed half grizzly. Oh—" and then she said a word I won't repeat. "Look."

"What?"

"There!"

And then I saw him, and my heart leapt out my chest.

"_Endozer_!"

"What if it's not him?" I said frantically, practically spilling my drink. "Maybe it's the guy he acquired."

"Or maybe he's having a little trouble walking," Rachel pointed out. She was right. He wasn't displaying very obvious signs, but he was walking slowly and staying close to the wall, reaching out to it every once in a while to steady himself. No more than twenty yards away. Twenty yards away!

"This is ridiculous," I hissed. "Here? Now? I thought the stakeout thing was a joke!" I was convinced some karmic magnetic force had drawn him there after seeing that picture in the Gap.

"Yeah, well," Rachel said aggressively, "he's here. Probably thought the Andalite bandits would try to blend with the humans. That, or Cinnabun's got a repuation past Pluto. Let's follow him and take him out." Figures. It was a dream come true for her: she'd probably have lost sleep worrying that the boys would get to Endozer before she did.

I was doubtful. It was too soon and couldn't be easy. I remembered the shaky frown on Marco's face. He was scared. Which meant I should definitely be scared. But we couldn't watch him simply walk out without doing anything to resolve the mess we were in. That 'whole world depends on us' thing. "Fine," I mumbled, and yanked up my bag. At least it got me out of any more shopping.

"Don't think this gets you out of any more shopping," warned Rachel.


End file.
